Dear friends, ONONOTHIMAGEN I know you might be sick of the sight of me by now, I know I am, however, I thought it was time for another of those update things that I start out meaning to post as a short note, yet end up writing a chapter of War and Peace, so here goes, and if you’ve got the stomach for it, then hopefully you’ll read on too. The reason I’m writing this tonight is its ‘Happy Anniversary’ to me. Yes, I’ve now hit the seven month mark since my diagnosis on 23rd April and so I’ve managed to reach another target. It seems to have been a month of targets and there are so many people I need to thank for making it another month of ‘highs’. I won’t go into the individual events as you will have seen most of them on Facebook already, but suffice to say that the efforts of Alistair Cameron, Allan Crow, Willie MacGregor, Jeff Stelling, Bill Leckie, Stefanie Smith, Calum Macauley, Neil MacConnell and Mikey Douglas have given me experiences and recognition I never ever thought possible, nor even feel worthy of. My heartfelt thanks go to each and every one of you. Okay, I will go into them, seeing as you didn’t ask! The Hall of Fame night on 10th November was amazing. It saw a full year of planning come to fruition, and having the Ramsden’s Cup winners on stage alongside the Coca Cola Cup winners was a dream come true, especially as I count each and every one as a friend. However, when it came to the ‘one final induction’ at the end, let’s just say thank goodness I have strong bowel control. Not because it was me being inducted (I never even twigged), but as Bill announced a final award I thought ‘Oh Shit, I’ve cocked up and forgotten someone’, as I turned around and counted the trophies with the recipients. I sat red faced as I thought that there must have been some poor member of the Coca Cola squad who hadn’t been honoured, and I just wanted the stage to open up and an Ally shaped figure to disappear through the gaping crevice. To find out it was me who was being inducted left me absolutely speechless…well apart from the word ‘Bastards’ which I mouthed to a grinning Allan Crow at the side of the stage. I honestly had not got a clue, and to think those devious colleagues of mine had held secret meetings, or phoned me up to tell me a meeting was cancelled, and then actually got together in my absence was really sneaky indeed. I did foil their plans one night when they arranged to meet Bill Leckie on a Monday night, knowing I couldn’t make it due to Art School Dancing on K107FM. However I spoiled it by getting Paul Johnston to stand in for me while I joined the lads to meet Bill. Secondly, the amazing team from BBC Alba who, over the course of the last year, have become really good friends. As media officer at RRFC, if a game is to be broadcast live, I liaise with the broadcaster to ensure they have access to whatever they need. That can mean access to training sessions or providing access to individual players for features. I first met the team when they covered the Ramsden’s Cup Semi-Final against Annan Athletic last season, and I found them to be extremely pleasant and wonderful people. I worked with them in preparation for, and during the Ramsden’s Cup Final, and by the time they were due at Stark’s Park for the home match against Queen of the South a few weeks ago, I was really looking forward to seeing them again. Despite a 4 – 3 defeat, we had some good laughs that night. Somehow with this group, it’s not like ‘working with broadcasters’, but more like getting a visit from a bunch of mates. And so when the producer, Stefanie Smith, called me to say they wanted to do a piece on me, well firstly I thought ‘Aye right Stef, who do you really want?’, and secondly I couldn’t believe that anyone would be interested. But Stef thought it was a story that should be shared and so last Wednesday we all spent the day together filming and me prattling on so much that she had to spend 16 hours on Friday editing it all down. There were a lot of great laughs during the day, and their sense of humour is equally as good (or as bad actually) as mine is. One such piece which was cut and will lie on the cutting room floor until Denis Norden decides to come out of retirement, was when we were leaving from my brother’s house to journey down to Stark’s Park. Calum, the interviewer was driving, and I was in the passenger seat, with Neil running the camera from the back seat with Stef alongside him, the idea being I was being asked about the journey to Stark’s Park as we drove there. Calum started up the car, put it in gear and began to draw away, turning to me and saying ‘Well Ally, we’re now going to the place where your heart is’ and I was supposed to reply, ‘Yeah, Stark’s Park’ and describe some memories from my times there. However, for some unknown reason (he says innocently), I said ‘Yeah Calum, the Big Titty Lap Dancing Bar that you got us tickets for’, at which point Neil and Stef collapsed in the back with laughter, while Calum and I giggled like naughty schoolkids. We did the retake without ‘stiffing’ though. It was also wonderful seeing them at Palmerston Park yesterday and I can’t emphasise enough the feeling of friendship among us all. However, on the footballing side, John Baird is beginning to test our friendship when he poked another one past us. Seriously though, it was great to see him again. Not only is he a first class player but a first class guy. So anyways, on to my own condition. Things don’t appear to be getting markedly worse, although the swallowing is getting a bit more difficult but apart from that I still feel fine. There have been a couple of other dodgy moments that I need to get checked out (uh oh…cue daughter in law moaning at me at this point…yes I will Jess, soon, I promise …ermmm) but, so far I feel vindicated about the decision not to have chemotherapy as that’s been seven fantastic months now. Again, my next target is to get to 23rd December, and with positive thinking I hope I can get there. I won’t tempt fate by saying I’m sure I will as everything is really still day-to-day, and realistically my main target is waking up the next morning, but it doesn’t half make you appreciate each day and the people you meet during it. Once again though, thank you all so much for your words of support and encouragement. They have all helped me get to this point in ways you will never understand. And finally, remember, life is a wonderful thing. Never take it for granted and never take people for granted. Tell them how important they are and never waste a second. Don’t just assume someone knows you love them. Tell them. In fact, do it right now! Love Ally x
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:43:05 +0000